Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Pembina Pipeline Call Options (NYSE:PBA)

Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 4,228 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,867% compared to the typical volume of 215 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBA. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Pembina Pipeline by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,449 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,150 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Broderick Brian C increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 32,823 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.37% of the company’s stock.

Pembina Pipeline Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PBA opened at $47.27 on Friday. Pembina Pipeline has a twelve month low of $35.45 and a twelve month high of $50.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average of $42.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. Pembina Pipeline had a net margin of 22.22% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Pembina Pipeline will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.735 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from Pembina Pipeline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Pembina Pipeline’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PBA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Pembina Pipeline from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Pembina Pipeline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Pembina Pipeline from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.67.

About Pembina Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline Corporation (NYSE: PBA) is a North American energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates midstream assets that transport, store and process hydrocarbons. Its core business focuses on the transportation of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensate, along with gas processing, fractionation, storage and related marketing services. Pembina serves producers, refiners and other energy companies by providing pipeline capacity, terminal services and midstream solutions that link upstream production to downstream markets and export facilities.

The company’s asset base is concentrated in Western Canada, including major operations in Alberta and British Columbia, and it also has operations and commercial activities that extend into the United States.